Ski brakes of this type are known in various constructions. The ski brakes which more closely relate to the abovementioned subject matter are described for example in German OS No. 24 12 623, in the associated addition applications which are published in German OS Nos. 24 36 155 and 25 07 371, furthermore, in German OS No. 25 31 466. All these constructions have in common the torsion-springlike construction of the entire braking bar. This has the disadvantage that the torsion force which is produced in the braking bar is the greatest in the ready or cocked position of the ski brake and when the ski boot is clamped in the ski bindings. As a result, the foot of the skier is pushed by the largest possible spring force. This situation is disadvantageous for holding down the ski boot in the ski binding since the release point of the ski binding must be adjusted with consideration being given to the torsional stand-up force stored in the spring wire bar. A further disadvantage consists in that in a one-piece manufacture of the bar, two opposed conditions must be met. First, the brake arms must be produced of a wire which is as strong as possible in order to avoid bending. Second, the dimensions of the spring wire of which the braking bar consists may not be chosen particularly large, because otherwise the earlier already mentioned torsion force, which the skier must overcome, will be too great and also the holding mechanism of the entire braking bar will have undesired dimensions. To avoid these disadvantages, it was suggested according to Austrian Auslegeschrift No. A 1803/75 to design the braking bar with additional extensions which are associated with the stepping plate, wherein the braking arms and in particular the segment which is stressed for bending consist of two wire materials, however, the one-piece manufacture of such a brake is for technical manufacturing reasons associated with particularly high assembly time and expense.
The already mentioned German OS No. 24 12 623 (corresponds to U.S. Pat. No. 3,989,271) describes also a further construction in which a pressure bar is associated with a stepping bar, wherein the two bars are connected by means of an intermediate bar. The known arrangement is thereby such that an extending of the intermediate bar is only possible when the stepping bar is extended. This will achieve the known pulling in of the braking arms above the upper ski surface in the ready position. In this known construction therefore the torsion force is produced only in the stepping bar and in same also only by the extending function, wherein the two bends of the stepping bar are supported at the end stop of the recess. A disadvantage of this known construction lies in the greatest force being created in the ready or cocked position and the torsion force having also to be produced by the stepping bar, so that again opposed conditions must be met.
The invention has the object of overcoming the disadvantages of the known ski brakes and to provide a ski brake in which the braking bar and the spring which loads same are constructed separately and the hold down force is smaller in the ready position of the device than in the braking position.
The object of the invention is inventively achieved by a spring, as actually known, being a barlike torsion spring which is designed from spring wire, and which torsion spring is supported on a mounting plate on the ski and wherein the torsion spring and the breaking bar are connected together through a stepping plate and between said parts there is provided a connection which permits a lost motion pivoting of the parts.
The inventive design of the ski brake permits the stand-up force to achieve its maximum magnitude in the braking position while requiring in the ready or cocked position only a small force for holding same down. This is due to the fact that the torsion force is stored exclusively in the separate spring bar and the braking bar is freed from any self contained stand-up forces. The braking bar carries out only the pivotal movement which is necessary for pulling in the ends of the braking arms in a plane which lies above the upper surface of the ski and generally parallel to said upper surface of the ski; the force pivoting the braking bar from the ready position into the braking position comes exclusively from the torsion force which is stored in the spring bar.